By a very narrow margin, the Blue Earth Area gymnastics team squeaked out a victory last Tuesday night.

The Bucs defeated Mankato East 127.475 to 127.175 in Winnebago.

Blaire Zierke led the Buccaneers by taking first place in the all-around, with a score of 33.175.

She took first in the beam competition, scoring 8.7. She also was third in floor exercise with 8.35, and fourth on the bars with 7.75. Zierke also had a 8.375 on the vault.

Julia Meyer had another good meet, taking second in all-around with a 32.35 score.

Meyer was third on the bars, scoring 8.35. She was fourth on both the beam (7.6) and the vault (8.45). She had a 7.95 in floor exercise.

Cassie Thompson was the other Buc gymnast to crack the top four places, scoring an 8.275 in floor exercise, good for fourth place.

Thompson scored a 30.9 in all-around. She had an 8.375 in the vault, helping BEA score a 33.5 in that event.

Buc girls 4th at home invite

The Blue Earth Area girls gymnastics team wound up in fourth place at their own BEA Invitational Meet on Saturday, Dec. 13.

The Bucs amassed a team total of 124.25 points.

Martin County West blew away the competition, scoring 139.725 for first place. Jackson County Central was in second with 136.325, and Austin was in third with 129.55.

MCW took four out of five first and second place finishes.

The Buc gymnasts failed to crack the top six spots in any of the five events. However, their best event was the vault, where they were third overall as a team.

They were fourth on the bars and fifth on the beam and the floor exercise.

Cassie Thompson scored an 8.8 on the vault to lead the way, just .025 out of sixth place.

Julia Meyer led the Bucs overall, scoring a point total of 32.25 in all-around. She had a 8.375 in vault, 7.9 on the bars, 7.33 on the beam and 8.625 on floor.

Blaire Zierke scored a 8.65 on the vault, 7.3 on the bars, 8.15 on the beam and 7.65 on the floor to score 31.75 in all-around.

Thompson was the other all-around participant for the Bucs, scoring a 29.525.

Other teams participating in the seven team tourney were Fairmont (5th), NRHEG (6th) and Windom (7th).